Monday, January 5, 2009

But who’s counting, right? Certainly not people in states like Arizona, Nevada or California. There the sun is always shining. Or so it seems.

For the rest of us, there is winter. For some of us, there is a very long winter. Dark. Gray. Dreary. Cold – miserably cold. And depressing.

This kind of winter depression is called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). It may surprise you that SAD has little to do with how cold it is. Instead it’s all about sunlight. Or the lack of it, to be exact.

Sunlight is an important visual cue for your body. It lets your brain know that it is "showtime." Time to be awake, alert and active. Your brain responds by adjusting your body temperature and certain hormone levels.

The long, dark days of winter deprive your body of this signal. As a result, you may feel sluggish, sleepy and depressed. Like other forms of depression, SAD is more common in women.

To combat SAD the best thing you can do is to "see the light." Let your eyes see as much sunlight as possible. Sit by a window during the day. Go outside for a walk on your lunch break.

You can supplement this natural light with bright light therapy. In the morning you sit near a small "light box" at home for a specific length of time. This exposes your eyes to intense but safe amounts of bright light.

Disclaimer

The Sleep Education Blog is intended as a public reference and information source only. The information on this blog should not be used for self-diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a substitute for medical care, which should be provided by a trained and licensed health care professional. If you suspect that you have a sleep disorder, you should consult your personal physician or seek help from a board-certified sleep specialist at an AASM-accredited sleep disorders center. For help finding an AASM-accredited sleep center, go to http://www.sleepeducation.com. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine assumes no liability for the information contained on the Sleep Education Blog or for its use.